The high-ranking Marine officers emerged from the meeting with heavy expressions; the situation on the sea was far from optimistic.
But for an old veteran like Garp, who had lived through the Rocks era and the Battle of God Valley, the state of the sea was just business as usual. The current situation was nowhere near as bad as before.
Whitebeard's heavy injuries and the aging of the Roger Pirates made Garp, who was used to the wind and rain, feel that time was on the Marines' side. Moreover, the current Three Admirals were arguably the strongest generation yet, and they hadn't even reached their limits. He also had his granddaughter; her future was bound to be at the Admiral-level of combat power.
Besides, the World Government wasn't as weak as one might imagine. The mysterious experts and monster-like black shadows from the Battle of God Valley still left an indelible impression in Garp's heart.
Garp sighed, "It's about to get chaotic. But that's also a good thing. Without chaos, how would there be opportunities?" He shook his head and stopped thinking about it.
Zephyr also felt immense pressure after the meeting. In this moment where a storm was brewing, there was no more time for the recruits to rest. Thus, he decided to move up the assembly and start training earlier.
For Hera, these few days of relaxation were enough. Her Zafkiel still had eight abilities waiting to be unlocked with a massive amount of Time Value. Furthermore, the constant healing from Water Bottle Bullet during training had left her Time Value reserves precariously low, making Hera feel a bit insecure.
As Zephyr recalled the recruits, those who had left returned one after another. Zephyr requested a new fleet and began the final stage of the Recruit Training Camp: the practical combat phase.
Once the recruits were fully assembled, Zephyr began his speech again: "Next, I will be the Captain, and Hera will be the Vice-Captain. Everyone else will follow the veterans to learn according to your specialties and interests. They will stay on the ship for three months, and after three months, you will be the ones sailing it."
The recruits in the training camp had all witnessed the battle between Hera and Zephyr, and more or less had been healed by Hera's healing abilities. Therefore, no one protested this decision, and all agreed to Hera being the Vice-Captain.
Hera was also on the stage and saw that Kuina had chosen to be the helmsman, while Ain chose to be the navigator.
This choice had been decided by the three of them yesterday in the dormitory. Since they wanted to set sail together, they should learn more. After all, on the sea, one cannot sail for long without a trusted navigator and helmsman.
After Zephyr finished explaining the matters concerning the Marine Academy below, he turned to look at Hera: "I will command for the first three months. You can learn by my side. In the following months, you will have full command. I will only intervene to remedy things if you make a mistake."
The Marine recruits found their positions, and the Zephyr Training Camp fleet slowly set sail.
Zephyr's goal this time was to sweep through the Pirate Crews in the Four Seas with bounties ranging from several million to twenty or thirty million. With Hera's protection, the range of selectable Pirate Crews was much larger. After all, her Water Bottle Bullet and Fourth Bullet could be called life-saving experts; as long as a teammate still had a breath left, she could pull them back.
The fleet set off grandly, heading toward the Four Seas.
In the blink of an eye, four months passed. During this half-year, except for a trip back to Marine Headquarters at the three-month mark, they had been drifting at sea. They encountered many Pirate Crews, but those small-time pirates entrenched in the Four Seas couldn't pique Hera's interest. Zephyr also requested that Hera not take action, as the other Marines needed training.
Those pirate Captains were no match for Kuina and Ain, and Binz also achieved good results in battle using his Ripe-Ripe Fruit.
Therefore, Hera could only release a City of Devouring Time during engagements to snatch some kills and accumulate Time Value. However, the pirates they encountered today seemed different; it appeared to be a Pirate Crew whose Captain possessed a Devil Fruit.
Zephyr said to Hera, "The opponent should be pirates who returned to the Four Seas after being crushed in the Grand Line. These people can't compete in the New World, so they can only return to the Four Seas to plague the civilians. They are the trash among trash. You'll be fine, right?"
Hera was looking at the intelligence sent back from the Marines: "The Captain is a Zoan Devil Fruit user? Besides the Captain, there are only three officers left. Perfect. I'll go deal with the Captain, and let Kuina, Ain, and Binz fight those three officers. Teacher, you just keep an eye on the recruits. Grunt Soldiers who have been to the New World are much stronger than the ones before."
Hera continued thinking: "The Hunting Teeth Pirates? A name I've never heard of. The Captain is Squeak Bogo. The fruit is the Zoan-type Mouse-Mouse Fruit, Guinea Pig Model. The bounty is only thirty million? Feels a bit mediocre."
Zephyr nodded, agreeing to Hera's deployment, while also reminding her: "When fighting Devil Fruit users among pirates, it's best not to kill them, but rather lock them in Impel Down to prevent the Devil Fruit from flowing back into the sea."
Then he glanced at the description of the Guinea Pig Fruit and added reluctantly, "If you want to kill him to extract Time Value, you can. There's not much risk if this fruit flows back out."
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